Cardinals pitchers Chris Carpenter and Jake Westbrook are back on the road to recovery

The Cardinals injury woes might not be as bad as originally thought, according to the team's TV crew.

The Fox Sports Midwest crew reported during the Redbirds' 6-3 win over the Royals that starting pitchers Chris Carpenter and Jake Westbrook are doing better than we have recently been led to believe.

Al Hrabosky and Rick Horton, both former major league hurlers, said that Chris Carpenter's "setback" isn't a big deal and that Jake Westbrook is suddenly feeling better so he might be back sooner rather than later.

Hrabosky said Carpenter isn't actually hurt or having a relapse of shoulder issues that shut him down almost all of 2012. He basically said the strain of throwing 80 pitches in his most recent side session made Carpenter's arm sore. But that isn't necessarily unusual. So, hopefully, things are still looking good for Carp to pitch in the big leagues sometime in the next month or six weeks.

Horton said Westbrook was set to meet with a surgeon next week to consider ways to cure the inflammation he's had in his elbow. It is believed that scar tissue from previous surgeries are to blame and that, after little relief from a pair of shots, it might require some cleanup. But Westbrook reported over the long weekend that his arm is suddenly feeling a whole lot better. And he's pushed back the meeting with the surgeon.